MDU: 3000 without power

SHERIDAN — Approximately 3,000 people in the town of Sheridan have been affected by power outages as of Friday afternoon, and Montana-Dakota Utilities crews were out in full force working on down power lines. The majority of outages are being caused by tree branches breaking under the weight of heavy snow.

Spokesman for MDU Tony Spilde said it’s been difficult to estimate when service will be restored in the area, as new outages are created with the additional snowfall.

“In some cases, a branch will knock out a whole section on the grid, and in other cases, it’s just one or two houses,” he said.

A press release from MDU states the company has brought in third-party contractors to help with the restoration work. The release also states individual cases may take as long as 48 hours to fix, as crews will be focusing on larger outages first.

“The crews have brought several circuits back on and the company will continue to put all its energy into that effort until every customer has their electricity restored,” Spilde said in the release.

MDU advises citizens of Sheridan County to stay clear of down power lines and report incidents to 1-800-638-3278 (1-800-MDU-FAST).

MDU serves approximately 15,500 customers in Sheridan.

The Sheridan Press will post updates as they become available.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 4:20 p.m. with information from the MDU press release.

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Tracee Davis joined the staff at The Sheridan Press in July of 2013. She covers business, energy and public safety. Tracee grew up in Kemmerer and has lived in several locations both in the U.S. and overseas. Her journalism training stems from her military service.